Chapter 298
“I forgot my phone, and I need to reach her. Could you please let her know?” Monty pleaded with the gatekeeper, hoping he’d let him in. He was desperate to see Calliope.
Lisette stood beside him, flustered but silent.
The gatekeeper reluctantly picked up the phone to call Calliope.
A few minutes later, he glared at Monty. “You liar, Mrs. Myers says she has no father!”
“What?” Monty was in disbelief.
“Get out of here before I call the cops!” the gatekeeper snapped. “You look like trouble, trying to sneak into the Myers Manor. Do you even know what place this is? Are you out of your mind?”
“No, listen…” Monty was incredulous, frustration boiling inside him. “I am Calliope’s father. Just let me talk to her, will you? She must have misunderstood. I don’t usually bother her, but this is important!
If I were some scam artist, I would’ve just climbed over the wall. Look, I’m here trying to reason with you.”
The gatekeeper raised his taser. “What did you say? Planning to climb the walls, huh?”
Monty took a step back. “No, no. That was just an example!”
“Mrs. Myers says she doesn’t know you. Now scram!”
As the gatekeeper spoke, a car pulled up, its headlights blinding him. He shielded his eyes as Valerian, Ulysses, and Horatio stepped out.
They walked right up to Monty.
“Dad, what’s going on?” Ulysses asked.
“The gatekeeper won’t let us in,” Monty said helplessly.
“It’s not me. Mrs. Myers claims she doesn’t know you!” the gatekeeper retorted, rolling his eyes at Monty.
“Tell Calliope her brothers are here,” Valerian told the gatekeeper. “Who does she think she is, refusing to see her family? Her father and siblings are all here, and she won’t meet us?”
“Married to Silas, does she think she’s the Queen Mother now? We can’t even see her?”
The gatekeeper eyed Valerian and the others warily but didn’t argue further. He called Calliope again, describing the brothers‘ intense demeanor and repeating Valerian’s words.
He felt indignant, thinking that even if they were indeed Calliope’s family, their attitude alone should keep them
out.
“Mrs. Myers, I can send them away if you don’t want to see them!” The gatekeeper, young and friendly with Calliope, had shared a few treats she’d brought and had grown fond of her.
During her time at the Myers Manor, Calliope had become well–acquainted with Silas’s staff. They feared Silas but adored Calliope, finding her kind, beautiful, and easy to get along with.
“Let them in,” Calliope told the gatekeeper. “Remember that path with all the booby traps? Take them that way and leave them to find their own way in.”
“Yes, Mrs. Myers!”
The gatekeeper chuckled. True to her clever reputation, Calliope had decided to use the path Mr. Myers designed for dealing with pesky visitors.
It rarely saw use, but today seemed to be the day.
